Echoes of Us
by DemonFoxBK201
Summary: The Hunter society has fallen. The remains of their legacy linger, but the individuals themselves have been eradicated by Grimm. Law declares that there are no longer any Hunters and Huntresses, but the people say otherwise. Rumors have it, two people who can still use Dust and Aura travel side-by-side. They are known widely as the Red Reaper and the White Knight. (Sorta-Future AU)


Blood. Crimson stains. Everywhere was blood. All was crimson. It adorned the ground like a field of roses, whispering to her, the curses of her victims.

 _'Monster…'_

 _'Demon…'_

Perhaps the one that hurt the most, was the cry of anger from a fallen soldier.

 _'Traitor..!'_

There were bodies everywhere, humans and faunus alike, bathed in their own life blood. Many were still, unmoving, cold. There were a few, however that whimpered in pitiful cries of pain, that stared at her in fear, and breathed their last breaths.

Glaring at her in fiery hatred they were, and one angered soul managed to work up the energy to rise.

He was a young man, soft brown hair, and burning red eyes, almost like the Grimm she often hunted. He was covered in slashes, and was bleeding profusely.

He had gotten off lightly.

Many were beheaded by her beloved scythe, while the more strategic ones were diced to pieces.

Arms and legs, torsos, heads were left abandoned on the ground. Her cuts were neat, and cut straight through, as if armor, aura, and bone were merely paper- merely air.

He was lucky enough to still be completely intact, no limbs were lost at all.

Perhaps it was because of that, or maybe his hatred managed to sooth some of his pain, that he readied his sword. He was young, and his expression told her everything- he had never lost a loved one. It hurt her to have to kill him, so she simply asked, "Please, put your sword away and live your life, I don't want to take another."

He snarled at her in defiance, and lunged. She sidestepped him in a flash, and swiftly knocked him out. Maybe he will grow up to be someone important, or maybe he'll kill himself in despair, she could never tell. It was with a great misfortune that they had encountered her. If she was an ordinary soldier, the 'battle', if you could even call it that, wouldn't have turned out this way.

She idly turned around, and opened her scroll. The soft glow did nothing to sooth her. There were two people on the screen.

A few years ago, there were four, but they had been long since they were removed.

Yet, the passing of time only served to dull the emotional pain- not expel it.

Red, the color of blood, of roses, was her. White, hard ice and soft snow, was her partner, and only remaining team member, Weiss.

She stared at the scroll, panic very quickly bubbling at the back of her mind- Weiss. No aura. _No aura._

 _'No..! Not Weiss!'_

And then she was sprinting, abusing her semblance, to the direction her partner had gone. Nothing mattered, not the corpses she trod upon, nor the bloodstained ground, or even her moistening eyes.

Then, among the sea of crimson, there was a small splotch of white.

A splotch of snow, being consumed by red.

"Weiss!" She found herself yelling. She was by her side in an instant.

"Oh...you're okay… That's good…" Weiss whispered.

"What happened?!" She demanded. Weiss was fading quickly, that much was obvious. No aura meant no healing, no healing with the pitch black sword through her stomach meant death.

"Salem. Ambush. Too many." She struggled to say. "I'm sorry… I let my guard down…"

"It's okay…" Ruby mumbled, softly setting her forehead against Weiss'.

"Is it selfish if I say 'don't leave me..?'" She asked.

Weiss slowly shook her head, "Of course not… But unfortunately I don't think I can hold on for much longer…"

She was aware that Weiss was dying. Pure willpower had kept her alive, but there was no denying the glassy look her blue eyes had acquired.

"I'll be okay… Go." But even as she said it, her eyes stung with unshed tears.

Weiss managed a weak smile and went limp.

She couldn't hold it no longer, and her eyes blurred with sorrow.

 _'I'm the only one left… I'm the only one left…'_

And suddenly her world was broken, and she was all alone. Her team was officially disbanded. It was impossible to keep a team going if there was only one member, so team RWBY is gone. All that remains is Little Red.

* * *

"Ruby… Ruby, wake up!" An all too familiar voice brought her out of unconsciousness.

"Jaune…" She mumbled, her voice breaking. She was crying, and there was no hiding it.

"You were dreaming about them again weren't you?" He asked mournfully. Time hadn't been lenient with him, and even though he was only twenty seven, he looked as if he was ready to go into the forties. He always had a short stubble on his chin, and his hair was uneven, as he could no longer go to a professional to get it cut. He often wore his signature white armor, even while they were asleep as they were sometimes ambushed by bounty hunters.

She herself wore metal boots, and gauntlets, of leather, any slight boost in defense could possibly save her life, but her armor couldn't be too heavy, lest it slow her.

Considering the fact that most of her enemies were hard hitters, it was in her best interest to evade, rather than block, but precautions have so far been the only thing keeping her alive.

The death of her loved ones only proved that.

Letting your guard down meant death. Weakness meant death.

Pain meant death.

So Ruby wiped away her tears, and stood up. Her only remaining companion stood up as well. There were no words of sympathy to offer.

Ruby put her hood up and prepared Crescent Rose, her beloved weapon had undergone many upgrades over the years, and currently it was likely that fastest weapon. Thinner, lighter, and the paint was slightly faded. The blade had been sharpened to a thin, almost invisible point, lethal. Bloodstains from many different enemies, not necessarily Grimm, coated the blades. It was a stain that would never come out, and she had long since given up trying to wash the blood out. The most she could do to keep it well maintained was oil it whenever she got the chance, and sharpen the blade after each battle.

Jaune had done much the same, and his family heirloom was far thinner.

Neither of them were the designated leader, and neither of them were the designated follower. They took whichever position depending on the situation, and so far it had served them good.

Never trust anyone but each other, for they were all that was left.

All that was left of RWBY, of JNPR, of RNJR, and all that was left of the Hunter society.

Yang had been killed three years ago, in a massive landslide that she triggered. Buried alive, and unrecoverable for three days, it was far too late. They had buried her crumpled body on the cliffside where Ruby's mother lay.

That was where Ruby learned a lesson: never let anger blind you.

Blake had been killed by a former friend that had been in the White Fang. Assassinated.

Be careful who you trust.

Ren and Nora died together, after having fought for two days straight, they were far too exhausted to fight any more, and their aura was drained completely.

Finish fights quickly.

Weiss was the last to die, six months ago, killed by Ruby's arch-nemesis, Salem. That was perhaps the most pointless death, as Salem had no grudge or will to kill her, it was just to get back at Ruby.

Never let your guard down.

So, they walked out into the forest, and almost immediately, Grimm were upon them.

They possessed no fear or hesitation, for these were mindless beasts.

Their numbers were decimated, and the two companions continued on.

There was no home for them, so they were now nomads. Their only possessions were their weapons, clothes, and a small knapsack with whatever food they scavenged in the forest.

They had camped near the edge of the forest, so they trees broke very quickly.

They wandered into the nearby village. The villagers had mixed reactions, as the world did about the two of them.

Some hailed them as the heroes they once were, while others dishonored them as the criminals they now were.

Friendlies often nailed a torn red garment to their door, out of sight of regular people for fear of persecution, to show their support. Those were typically the only ones that allowed them business.

Unfriendlies, regard them with disdain, and will promptly close their doors to them the moment they lay eyes upon them. Some of the braver ones with throw stones, or insults, it isn't until their aura drops past half that they decide it isn't worth it. Sometimes massive crowds of them gather, while others there's barely a few.

This particular village appeared to be an average one, a few friendlies and few unfriendlies. Ruby led the way to a friendly restaurant, as a few gaped at them, likely not have believed the rumors as true.

Here, were perhaps the most famous people in the present.

The Red Reaper and the White Knight.

Ruby pushed the door open and walked up to the counter, ignoring how the hubbub of the restaurant immediately died.

"Two meals of whatever sixty lien can buy." She said, sitting on a stool. Jaune sat himself beside her, quietly observing the people around them.

"Yes, w-what would you like to drink?" The counter worker asked nervously.

"Just water." Jaune said.

She nodded and hurried off to get their orders.

The duo waited in almost deathly silence, as did the restaurant's customers.

The waitress came back quickly, serving their food at breakneck speed.

"Hey..! That's my order!" Someone protested.

Ruby didn't budge, but whispered quietly, "Please don't put us before your other customers."

She blinked hesitantly, but did as told and took the order to its proper customer.

They stayed silent for the rest of their stay at the restaurant, leaving as soon as their food was all eaten, leaving the proper sixty lien.

After they ate, they immediately left the village, and continued their endless journey.

They walked for hours in plains of golden grass and forests of bright green. They were in Vale, and they were here to meet some people.

Ruby stepped familiarly, as this was a path she had followed many, many times.

The first one that came into view was the last to die, Weiss.

 _Weiss Schnee_

 _"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or form of measure, and all of it, irreplaceable…"_

A quote that allowed no semblance of peace in Ruby's mind.

 _Lie Ren_

 _"Keep moving forward."_

Something Ruby could not bring herself to stop doing, not after so long of living in fear and fighting for survival, she couldn't just stop.

Nora's gravestone had been scratched by something, and the words and name were illegible.

Blake's gravestone had cracked from some unknown force, but the words could still be made out.

 _Blake Belladonna_

 _"Your hopes have become my burden, I will find my own liberation."_

An old quote, her goal from when she left the White Fang. Nevertheless, it represented her. And then there was Yang. The words weren't her own, but they described her all too well.

 _Yang Xiao Long_

 _"Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its would be judgement."_

A golden gravestone, requested by Jaune even though there was no body. There was no quote, no name, it was just a golden rock. But, it wasn't, it was Pyrrha Nikos' grave.

The last gravestone was her mother's, the oldest of the gravestones.

 _Summer Rose_

 _"Thus kindly I scatter"_

Seven graves, seven loses, seven times Ruby's been broken down. But she got back up, as did her dear friend Jaune.

She sat down on the grass, looking at the sky. Jaune kneeled down, like the knight he was made out to be, and together they talked to their fallen comrades.

* * *

 _"How can the dead be truly dead when they still live in the souls of those who are left behind?"_

 _—Carson McCullers,_ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

* * *

 **Yep... Another random as hell story... hope you like it... sorry how everyone's already dead, but yeah...**

 **At this point I'm not even sure how I come up with ideas like this, and I have this weird feeling that I use too many commas?**

 **It will be explained later why the world is like this, so... yeah.**

 **Please leave a review..?**


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